The present invention pertains to hockey. More particularly, the present invention pertains to a control fascia which may be molded onto the blade of a hockey stick, and particularly to a replaceable control fascia for adhesive attachment to the blades of ice hockey and street hockey sticks which permit improved puck and ball handling, respectively.
Ice hockey is an important participation and spectator sport world wide; and is played at many levels, for example professional, olympic, semi-professional, college, and high school, as well as league play at all age levels. Street hockey is a relatively recent outgrowth of the interest in ice hockey. Unlike ice hockey, street hockey does not need an ice arena, but may be played on virtually any hard, smooth surface, generally with in-line skates (roller blades) rather than ice skates. Both ice hockey and street hockey require accurate control over a scoring piece, a puck in ice hockey, and a puck or ball in street hockey.
The object in both sports is to direct the scoring piece into a goal, which may comprise a net-like structure. Directing the scoring piece by hitting it with the stick necessitates that the player have control over the scoring piece and its interaction with the blade of the stick. In addition, as ice hockey and street hockey are team sports, the player must also be able to pass the scoring piece to his teammates, as well as being able to xe2x80x9cstick handlexe2x80x9d the scoring piece down the ice or other surface.
The blades of hockey sticks are generally smooth and often somewhat curved, and a hard shot or long pass may often start near the heel of the blade, but leave the blade near its toe. If the blade is smooth, the puck is difficult to control. For many years, ice hockey players at all levels have wrapped adhesive tape around the stick in an effort to improve puck handling, and this practice has spread to street hockey as well. However, the use of tape has numerous disadvantages. First, the complete wrapping of the blade adds considerable weight to the blade. The tape on the top and bottom of the blade does not affect ball or puck control, and the tape along the bottom of the blade, particularly in street hockey, interferes with the smooth progress of the blade across the playing surface.
Second, the tape easily becomes abraded and torn, and as a result, unravels. This necessitates retaping at frequent intervals, many times as often as once per period. Third, although puck handling capability of a taped stick is superior to the use of a bare stick, it is only marginally improved when using a puck, and significantly impaired when using a ball. Fourth, not being waterproof, the tape does not protect against contact of the bottom of the blade with moisture.
Finally, the tape wraps obscure any logos or advertisements imprinted upon the blade. Tape itself cannot be used to present significantly sized logos or advertisements, since it has a narrow width to permit its wrapping around the complex contours of the modern hockey blade.
It would be desirable to provide a renewable, more durable blade surface which does not involve wrapping with tape, which is durable and of light weight, which improves puck and ball handling as compared to tape, and which is capable of performing the useful commercial activity of displaying logos, advertisements, and the like. It would be further desirable to provide a hockey stick with a control fascia molded onto the blade or adhesively attached to the blade at the point of hockey stick manufacture.
It has now been surprisingly discovered that control fascias having a certain level of granularity provide for greatly improved control of scoring pieces in ice and street hockey. The control fascias are durable, easily replaceable, and unlike tape, may be manufactured with displayable logos. The control fascias may also be designed to be integral with the blade of the hockey stick.